


Only the good die young

by Multifandom_damnation



Series: Too rare to live, too young to die [2]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Billy Hargrove & Maxine "Max" Mayfield Have a Good Relationship, Billy Hargrove Needs a Hug, Canonical Child Abuse, Character Death Fix, Developing Friendships, Domestic Violence, Dysfunctional Family, Family Dynamics, Father Figures, Gen, Good Parent Jim "Chief" Hopper
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-19
Updated: 2019-09-19
Packaged: 2020-10-21 15:53:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20696117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Multifandom_damnation/pseuds/Multifandom_damnation
Summary: Thanks to Steve being at the right place at the right time, Hopper knows what goes on behind closed doors at the Hargrove estate, whether anyone wants to admit it or not, and he isn't going to let anyone get in the way of him trying to fix it. Those kids deserve better, and maybe Hopper could be the person to give them that.He's got plenty of room, anyway. And who's Neil going to complain to about his semi-kidnapped children? The police?(AKA Hopper confronts the Hargroves, decides their not good enough, and invites Billy and Max to stay at the cabin with them for a while.)





	Only the good die young

**Author's Note:**

> This one was really hard to tag. Anyway, this goes out to @Curious_panda who suggested that I make this into a series, which was a great idea, because who doesnt' want to see Hopper looking after more children than he can handle? I've got some ideas...
> 
> But seriously, I love Max and Billy, and the next fics will probably focus more on their relationship like the other ones do, but for now, here's one mostly about Hopper. I hope you enjoy it because I literally wrote this in two days and it turned out really well, in my opinion, but I'll let you guys be the judge.

Hopper found him, unsurprisingly, at the pool.

He was dropping El off because Steve was ‘busy’, and he spotted Billy up at his usual spot in the lifeguard’s chair, without a shirt, watching over the swimming, screaming kids with an eagle’s eye. Hopper trusted Billy with those kids- he knew that nothing would happen to them under Billy’s ever-watchful gaze.

Max was swimming just below his chair, half in and half out of the sun, and when she caught sight of El, she bid Billy goodbye and swam over to where El was taking off her oversized shirt and daintily getting into the water. Hopper wasn’t used to being at the pool, so seeing her in a swimsuit was a little startling- everything within him was screaming to tell her to put her shirt back on, but they were at a swimming pool for gods sakes, if he couldn’t trust her around other kids and Billy watching over her, then he might as well pack up and leave to become a nomad on a mountain somewhere.

With aching knees, he crouched down at the side of the pool before El could dive any deeper, and said, “Hey, you have fun, but in case you don’t see me, I’m going to be over there talking to Billy, ok?”

El smiled. “Ok,” she said as if she knew something he didn't. “Be nice,” and then she was gone before he could ask what she meant.

A little confused, Hopper made his way past children speed-walking around the side of the pool in fear of being caught running by Billy and mothers lounging in the sun on deckchairs with a good view of the lifeguard's post. He glanced over and caught Steve watching him, Robin leaning into his side, eyeing one of the other girls her age over the top of her sunglasses. In the back of his mind, Hopper knew why Steve was watching.

Really, Hopper wasn’t sure what he was planning to accomplish. He was, of course, going to ‘be nice’ like El had suggested, obviously, but he wasn’t always all that good with the whole ‘be nice’ thing without a script, and he really didn’t have a script. The only reason he and Steve had come up with the plan to make sure Hopper was the only one who could bring El to the pool on one of the hottest days of the year was really only so he could talk to Billy, and even after at least a week to prep, he hadn’t figured out a single way to start a conversation with him. Hell, Hopper didn’t think he had ever met the kid in a positive circumstance in the whole time he had known him!

Just when he was starting to regret his idea and consider turning back, Billy spotted him, and he had no choice now but to continue. “Chief?” Billy frowned. “What are you doing here? You don’t seem like the pool goer to me.”

“Oh, uh, yeah,” Hopper said, leaning awkwardly against the base of the tall chair, deciding that he might as well wing it. “Steve was busy, so El pestered me into bringing her until I caved, so here we are.”

“Harrington finally run out of car seats in that old fossil of his?” Billy joked, looking away from Hopper and back to surveying the pool. “I could have taken her. I had to bring Max anyway.”

Hopper licked his lips. “Nah, it's fine. Not too much of a hassle. I needed to get out of the house anyway, get some fresh air. I’ve been cooped up in there for too long.” He cleared his throat. “Hey, uh, I’ve been meaning to ask you. I haven’t met your parents since you moved here. Where does your old man work?”

Billy still wasn’t looking at him, too busy doing his damn job like a good kid in desperate need of money, but Hopper didn’t miss the way he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “Neil’s at home,” he said and honestly, Hopper hadn’t expected that. “He’s got the day off today. But he works as a security guard at the bank on the other end of town, and Susan would be home too. She doesn’t get out much.”

“Uh, right,” Hopper said. He wasn’t sure what else to say. That had gone a lot easier than he had expected. “Cool. Nice to know. Uh, good luck with your shift, I hope you have a great time...”

As Hopper quickly retreated from the situation, he was keenly aware of Billy watching his back as he got further and further away. He exchanged a glance with Steve. Steve nodded.

He stood against the gate for a moment, because El was a very perceptive child and she would know that he was up to something if he left right away, but he also felt so uncomfortable it was almost unbearable. He was the Chief of Police, the whole town knew who he was, and here he was, leaning against the burning metal gate in his brightly coloured Hawaiian shirt and wide-brimmed hat with his arms crossed and his eyes never leaving his daughter in case she started to drown and she needed him to jump in and save her. Which was stupid. What an idiot.

Eventually, he pushed away from the wall and made his way to the little group of friends that had congregated in the shade. “El, sugar, I have to go.”

She frowned at him. “Why?”

“Something’s come up at work,” he lied and she immediately softened. “They need me to hold down the fort. Those morons are useless without me, I swear.”

“Don’t worry, Hop,” Steve said as if jumping on his cue, almost a little too eager, but just the right amount of serious that the kids didn’t see through it. “I can take her home. All good.”

Nodding, Hopper almost sprinted out of the pool and into his cruiser and out of the area in a desperate effort to get as far away from there as possible.

Finding the Hargrove estate was easy enough. The station had every file of the people who lived in Hawkins, and he was Chief of Police. Addresses were nothing but a mild inconvenience to him.

It was a humble home, and exactly what Hopper had expected. Just large enough for two adults and two teenagers, a garage that could _probably_ snugly fit a Camaro, and the warm smells of baking floating out through the open window in the kitchen. If Hopper wasn’t afraid of getting caught, he would have done a patrol around the house and looked through the windows just to be sure, but people could be watching. Better to do this on the straight and narrow.

He marched up to the door and hammered loudly on the wood. He heard voices inside, scuffing, and then suddenly the door was swung open and he was met by a woman he could only expect to be Susan. She looked a little bit like Max, but without that fire in her eyes. “Oh, hello,” she greeted with a smile. “How may I help you?”

“Who is it, Susan?” Hopper heard from inside. That voice was not a very nice voice, not at all.

“My name is Jim Hopper, I’m the Chief of Police here in Hawkins,” he said, producing his badge from his pocket. Susan took a step back. Inside, someone swore. “I was wondering if I could come in and ask you a few questions. This is just a house call from a concerned member of the public. No arrests. See?” he held up his arms- there was defiantly no handcuffs hanging from his off-duty summer swimwear.

Susan’s smile was a little shaky now, but she stepped back. “Of course, come in-”

She was interrupted by a face coming into view from behind the door, full of anger and contorted into a vile scowl. Like a twisted version of Billy, if Billy had poison running through his veins instead of blood. “No, sorry, we don’t have the time,” he snapped and reached over Susan to slam the door closed. “You’ll have to come back some other day.”

Hopper threw his hand out and stopped the door from closing all the way. Susan looked at him in shock, but Hopper wasn’t looking at her. “No, I insist.”

He shoved open the door and pushed his way into the room, and at that point, there was nothing Neil could do without assaulting a police officer, so he gritted his teeth and turned away to lean against the wall. Hopper looked around the house. “Lovely home you have here.”

“Thank you, I try and keep it tidy,” Susan said as she closed the front door, a little taken aback. “May I offer you some lemonade? It's homemade. I’ve already got some ready for Max- my daughter- when she comes home from the pool.”

Somehow, Hopper managed to peel his eyes away from Neil to smile at her. “Some lemonade would be lovely, thank you.”

The kitchen, entryway and living room were all sort of conjoined, so Susan could still be seen in the kitchen and could probably still hear them, but for the most part, Neil and Hopper were alone.

Hopper had no idea what he had wanted to say to Billy back at the pool. But this? This he had been planning for a very long time.

“So,” he said, and Neil slowly turned his steely gaze back to him. “I’ve been getting reports about your son, Billy, showing up to school covered in bruises and scrapes and the like. Have you... heard anything about that?”

Neil shrugged in that arrogant way assholes like him do. “He’s got a knack for getting into fights and he tends to get his ass kicked. What do you want me to do about it?”

“He’s never talked to you about it?”

“He’s a big boy now; he can take care of himself.” Neil looked at Hopper down his nose. “He doesn’t need his old man rushing in to save him like I always do.”

Feeling his frustration building, Hopper ran his tongue roughly over his teeth in an effort to release some of it. “You know, it’s strange,” he rocked back and forth on his heels. “I’ve lived in this town for a long time, and I’ve never seen a kid with so many marks and bruises. Every day, it seems as if he gets new ones, and I’ve seen Billy. He’s a big kid and looks tough as nails. There’s probably a heap of dick-head kids out there looking to pick a fight, but there’s still only so many, and Billy doesn’t look like the kind of kid to just sit back and take a beating. He’s the only kid around here that I’ve seen with those sorts of markings and some of these kids might be dull, sure, but they’re not stupid enough to go after a kid like Billy again and again just because they like the fight.”

“What’s your point, Officer?” Neil said, crossing his arms. Susan walked in then with a cold glass of lemonade on a napkin and Hopper took it. “Are you here for a reason or are you just here using up our hospitality?”

“My point,” Hopper said slowly, wanting every word to get through. “Is that we believe that there may be some other reasons as to why Billy has more bruises and injuries than the police force on a bad day, and we’ve considered all our options, and the conclusion that we’ve come to is that he must be getting them from his home life. Would you know anything about that, Mr Hargrove?”

Neil didn’t answer, but Susan gasped. “_Us_? No, we love both our children. They mean the world to us. We would never raise a hand to them.”

“Right,” Hopper said. “You love them both so much that you only prepare lemonade for your daughter,” Susan faltered. Hopper turned to Neil. “Do you share the same sentiment as your wife?”

“Sure,” Neil said, that still frustratingly blank-smug-empty look on his face. Now that Hopper thought about it, it was the same face Billy put on when he was trying not to give anything away. Interesting. “Of course. Love the kids.”

“Hmm,” Hopper swirled the lemonade in his glass. He'd been holding it so tightly he was worried it was going to shatter in his grasp. He gulped it down until the glass was empty and handed it back to Susan. “Well then, in that case, I had better get going. I’ve got to find those kids who’ve been picking fights with that lovely young man of yours who spends all day working at the pool. I’ll let myself out.” He turned and walked to the door, but before he exited, he tossed over his shoulder. “But keep in mind, and remember this well, I fucking hate liars with a burning passion.”

He slammed the door behind him on his way out. Something rattled and smashed, and he felt smug about it.

* * *

Billy drove Max home later that afternoon, so late that the sky was already starting to darken, and when he walked in the house, there was a tension that he was unused to. He was used to other kinds of emotions thick in the household, but none of it was this kind of tension. Max didn’t seem to notice it, because she danced off towards her bedroom to begin packing as fast as possible. Billy didn’t take off his jacket or place his keys in the bowl by the door, but he did toss his work bag into the corner. Neil looked at him strangely. “Why’s she so excited?”

“Her friend, El, invited her over for a sleepover,” Billy reluctantly explained while he waited. The faster they were out of there, the better. “She’s going to get her stuff and I’m going to take her down there.”

“Who are the parents?” Neil asked. He didn’t really care, but Susan would kill him if he let her go to a shady place. “I’ve never met El’s parents.”

Billy checked his watch impatiently. “The Police Chief, Jim Hopper.” Neil stiffened. “A stand-up guy, as far as I can tell. Max has been over there a couple of times already.”

Neil ran a hand stiffly down his face. “Hopper, huh?” Billy looked at him. “Change of plans. You’re going to drop her off, and you’re going to stay there. Keep an eye on things. I don’t trust that pig within an inch of my life. You’re not to let that house or your sister out of your sight, understand?”

“But who knows how long she will be there?” She could end up staying over for a whole week!" Billy protested. “You can’t expect me to stay outside for the whole time.”

“I said,” Neil repeated, and Billy felt that familiar chill run down his spine, and he resisted the urge to take a step back, far away from the expression on Neil’s face and the effects he knew would happen. “Do you understand?”

Flinching, Billy lowered his head. “Yes, sir,”

In the other room, Susan was kissing her daughter goodbye and wishing her a good time, and then she was bounding out to join Billy in the entryway. She looked between Billy and Neil, and gauged the tension in the room, and moved away from Neil to stand at Billy’s side, tucked safely away under his arm. Neil glanced at her. “You have a good time, kiddo. I’ll see you when you get back.”

Max didn’t answer, but she was out of the door almost as quickly as Billy was. He took her bag from her and slung it over his own shoulder before tossing it into the boot of the Camaro already waiting outside.

She didn’t waste any time asking questions once the car door slammed shut after her. “What was that all about?”

Billy gunned the engine. “Just Neil being a paranoid asshole, as always.”

“Are you going to be alright?” she asked. “Can you deal with him alone while I’m gone? I don’t know when I’ll be back.”

“I won't going home,” Billy said. Max jerked her head to look at him. “Neil doesn’t trust Hopper. He wants me to stay outside the house and watch for any funny business.”

He could feel Max’s eyes on him, her frustration was almost palpable. “You can’t do that! What does he just expect you to do, just sit in the car the whole time? Can’t you just go home?”

“Yeah, sure Max, because me going home would really be a good idea,” Billy retorted. “Disobeying a direct order. Good thinking. That defiantly can’t go wrong.”

“He might not be home!”

“But your mum will be, and we both know that between me and Neil, she’s going to side with Neil every time.”

Max chewed on her cheeks and fumed in her seat, twisting her fingers and toes together in silent fury. “I hate him,” she seethed, and right then, Billy believed her.

“Yeah well,” Billy kept his eyes on the road. “Join the club.”

* * *

Billy walked her in, the lights inside the cabin bright and welcoming, and helped her carry her very heavy bag. The door was unlocked, and Max just walked inside without knocking. They knew her well enough by now, and she felt safe.

Hopper was lounging on the recliner facing the TV, and when he heard the door open he turned around and jumped up to greet them. Max was already gone, taking her bag from Billy and rushing to deposit it in El’s room. Hopper watched her go and turned to Billy. “Hey there, son.”

“Uh- hi,” Billy didn’t know what to say. He felt a little awkward. He stuck his hands in his jacket pockets and rocked on his heels. “Just... dropping Max off, then I’ll be on my way.”

Pursing his lips, Hopper nodded slowly and rubbed at the back of his neck. “Right, right, ok. Uh, actually, you wouldn’t mind staying around a little longer, would you? I’ve got a spare room, and no way in hell am I sending you back to your old man on a night like this.”

Confused, Billy took a step back. “What are you saying?”

Before Hopper could reply, Max came back into the room, wearing a similar look of confusion to the one that was currently on Billy’s face. “Hey, uh, where’s El?”

“Yeah, about that,” Hopper said, feeling a little nervous, but he couldn’t turn back now. “She’s gone with Steve back to your place. I’m actually surprised you missed them. Anyway, Steve’s gone to get some of your things, Billy- clothes, equipment, items- shit like that. El's gone with him... well, in case your dad gives Steve a hard time. You’ll be staying here for a few days, and I don’t give a flying fuck what your dad says.”

Max looked excited, almost vibrating out of her shoes, and she turned wide eyes to Billy. Billy, for his part, didn’t really know what was going on. “And Neil is just... alright with that? Because about half an hour ago, he told me he didn’t trust you worth a grain of salt, and that I needed to stay outside and keep an eye on Max.”

Hopper was frowning, but he didn’t bring it up. “What the hell is he going to do? I’m the _Chief of the fucking police_, what’s he going to say? Go up to my station where I pretty much run the fucking place and put in a report about me keeping his kids hostage? How do you see that going down? Because I don’t see that going down at all.”

Billy felt like the floor was opening up beneath his feet and the ground was waiting to swallow him whole. Max was looking at him, tears in her eyes, but Billy couldn’t take his eyes away from Hopper and the cautious yet eager expression on his face. “Why are you doing this?”

“Because I’ve lived in this town for a very long time, and I’ve met a few scum bags in my life, but your father is a whole new level of fucked up,” Hopper didn’t miss a beat. “And I think you deserve better. Both of you do. I’m sick and tired of you walking around this town covered in bruises. I know what happens in that house even if none of you wants to admit it, and I can’t stand liars, especially when we all know that they’re lying. So, you’re staying here for the time being. If you don’t mind.” He amended. He glanced at Max. “Both of you.”

Max was jumping up and down, tugging on Billy’s arm, so happy so was close to tears. “Billy. _Billy_. Oh my god, _Billy_.”

“So?” Hopper asked, laughing a little now as he watched Max. “Will you stay?”

Honestly, everything within Billy was telling him to turn around and run away, the threat of what Neil would do when he found out neither of his kids were coming home was much scarier than anything that the world could throw at him at this point, except maybe _him_...

But somehow, Billy couldn’t find it anywhere within himself to refuse. “Are you sure?” he tried in a last-ditch effort to give Hopper a chance to change his mind.

Hopper just smiled at him, his eyes crinkled and his mouth partially hidden by his moustache. “I’ve been a dad before. And I’ve recently adopted another little girl who just so happens to have superpowers and can make things happen just by thinking really hard about it. I think I can handle a couple of teenagers.”

Max was openly crying now, and hanging off of Billy’s arm as if her life depended on it. They shared a look and had a moment of wordless conversation. Please, she seemed to be saying, we need this. Billy looked up at Hopper. “Yeah, alright. Sure. We’ll see how this goes.”

And if Hopper still had any reservations before he provided his offer, he certainly didn’t now after seeing the hopeful and happy looks on the faces of a usually unhappy and desolate team. Maybe everything was going to be alright after all.

**Author's Note:**

> I can't believe that right now I've written more for Stranger Things, a show I haven't even watched, than Titans and Shadowhunters, shows about things I'm obsessed with. I just love Billy and Max I guess. They're just so fun to write.


End file.
